Best Friends Forever?
by imawesome519
Summary: Andre and Tori are best friends, but is there something more?
1. What is Happening?

Tori Vega and Andre Harris sat in Tori's house after school rehearsing a scene they had to do for Sikowitz, their crazy drama teacher's class. Tori and Andre had been best friends ever since Andre was paired with Trina, Tori's awful and untalented sister for the big Hollywood Arts showcase. The night of the showcase Trina had an allergic reaction and Tori had to perform in her place. Tori performed so well she was offered immediate admission into Hollywood Arts and the rest is history.-

Tori loved being best friends with Andre. She loved how he was crazy talented, how he had and amazing voice and how he could write songs like nobody's business. She loved how he showed up at her house with frozen yogurt at random times and how when

He knew she was tired he brought her coffee with the perfect amount of cream and just the right amount of sugar. She loved spending time with him and just hanging out. Although lots of people thought they were a couple or dating, Tori never saw Andre in that way. He was always just a really good friend.

"Don't tell me what to do! You're not my father!" Tori read from the script.

"Can't you see Elaine that I am just trying to protect you?" Andre counteracted

"Why do you care so much anyway?" Tori asked. Andre took a step towards her. Tori knew there was a kiss in this scene, so she was prepared. He was so close she could feel his breath on the bridge of her nose as he looked down on her. Tori closed her eyes as he gently cupped her chin and softly pressed his lips against hers. It was the softest, sweetest kiss Tori had ever experienced. When he pulled away she kept her eyes closed and tried to savor and remember the moment.

"Um… Tori?" Andre asked, concern laced in his voice.

"Hm?" she replied, her eyes still closed.

"Was that okay?"

"Perfect."

After Tori said that her eyes snapped open in realization. Was she seriously gushing over that kiss? A totally platonic, stage kiss. A kiss that meant absolutely nothing. But she felt something. She just wasn't sure what. Instantly, feeling self conscious, she said "It was great. We'll definitely get an A on this one."

"Cool." Andre relaxed and smiled at her. "Do you want to do it again?"

"Um, no. Let's just watch TV."

They settled on watching a movie about some lady who had killed a bunch of people and was on the LAM.

"Don't you think it would've been smarter for her to check into that hotel with a fake name instead of her real one? She's a stupid criminal." Andre commented. But Tori wasn't paying attention to the movie in the slightest. She was busy noticing cute, quirky things about Andre she had never noticed before. Like how when he laughed his smile went all the way up to his eyes where they crinkled at the edges or how when he was anxious he pretended to play piano on his lap. All of it was adorable.

"Tori? Hello? TORI!"

"Huh?"

"You were staring at me and really freaking me out…"

"Oh. Sorry." Tori ducked her head in embarrassment.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yup, peachy." Tori but on her best smile.

Andre still looked skeptical. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. Everything is perfect."

"Okay, if you say so." Andre said but still looked at her.

Just then, Cobra Starship's Make Me Feel was playing throughout the Vega's living room. It was Andre's phone.

"Hello?" Although Tori was glad he was concerned about her, she was grateful for the distraction. If he would've pushed the issue more, she might've told him. But told him what exactly, she didn't know. She had no idea what she felt. The thing she felt most was confused.

"That was Grandma again. She freaking out about the vacuum. I gotta go. I'll call you later Tor."

"Kay." He grabbed his jacket and keys off the couch. She flushed briefly as he hugged her goodbye. She walked him to the door. After he left she shut the door and flopped down on the couch to watch the remainder of the movie.

"Andre Harris, what are you doing to me?"


	2. Chapter 2

Andre walked into Hollywood Arts Thursday morning. Immediately, he saw two of his best friends, Tori and Cat. As he came up to them Cat seemed to be telling a very vivid story about her brother, as always.

"…And then we had to take him to the emergency room because the turtke wouldn't let go of his pinky toe." Cat finished.

"Sup Lil' Red, Tori." Andre said.

"Andreeeeeeeee!" Cat squealed an hugged him as if the hadn't seen each other in years, even though he had just seen her yesterday.

"Hey Andre." Tori smiled. It was a smile that made his heart melt. Not that he felt that way about Tori, I mean they were just friends, but she was so pretty and…

"Look! It's Robbie! Hi Robbie!" Cat yelled across the hallway. To Tori and Andre she said, "I'm gonna go tell Robbie my story. See you later!"

"Wow," Tori said opening her locker, "That girl is something else."

"Tell me about it." Tori handed him her history book. "So."

"So what?" Tori asked. She closed her locker, took her book back form Andre and put it in her messenger bag.

"How do you think we'll do on our scene tomorrow?" Andre asked as they walked to first period.

"I think it'll be awesome!" Tori smiled.

"Really? I'm kind of nervous about it."

Tori looked at him confusedly. "No need to be nervous. You were great yesterday."

"Huh. You think so? I think maybe we need to practice the kiss a few more times." Tori's face turned white. "Tori what's wrong?" She seemed to recover quickly from whatever it was.

"I'm fine. But, uh, I don't think we should practice the kiss anymore. Don't wanna make it too rehearsed." She said in a rush.

"I guess you're right." He looked at Tori again. She still looked sort of pale. "You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm great. Never better. Why?"

"You just seem kind of wazzed out, I guess."

"Nope, I am totally fine." Tori said as she rushed off in front of him to her class, leaving Andre standing in the middle of the hallway.

"That was weird." Andre said to himself.

In 4th period advanced piano, the only class Andre could use to think because the teacher pretty much let them do their own thing, he thought about why Tori was acting so weird.

Yesterday, she went all wacko and stared at him, like he had gown two heads. Today he talks about rehearsing the kiss in their scene more and she just shuts down.

The kiss! Maybe the kiss was weird and awkward and bad and she didn't want to endure kissing him anymore times than she possibly had to. He wondered what went wrong. Everything seemed fine on his end. He closed his eyes and tried to remember everything he could.

_Her big brown chocolate eyes staring up at him. Her hair glossy under the soft light. Her lips soft and pink and tasting like…_

He knew he was getting distracted. He thought about all the things that could go wrong when you kissed someone. He could've had bad breath or could've used to much tongue but he brushed his teeth just for the occasion (because he's a germ-a-phobe like that) and not tongue wasn't involved at all. He could've burped in her mouth or thrown up in it (like Robbie did to a poor unsuspecting girl once), but that hadn't happened either.

Was he a bad kisser? None of the girls he had ever dated said so (especially not Sherry), but it was still a possibility. He tried again to recall the kiss in detail.

_Her lips pressing against his. The smell of her shampoo filling his nose, intoxicating him with vanilla sweetness. The way she leaned into him and sighed with contentment. The way she looked after he pulled away, eyes closed, glowing like an angel…_

The bell rang.

Andre met Tori in their usual spot to walk to the Asphalt café.

"Andre!" Tori waved to him. "Missed you best friend!" There goes that perfect smile again.

"Hey Tor." Andre said as he wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace. She seemed to be back to her normal self. "You ready for some grub?"

"Ew." Tori made a face. "Don't say grub it grosses me out." Andre laughed. His best friend was back.

Through out lunch, although the banter and chitchat should have kept him preoccupied, his mind found its way thinking about the kiss again. Everything seemed fine with him and Tori; Andre felt a slight shift between them. He cornered Tori about it in the janitors closet after lunch.

Tori felt trapped. And she knew she was. Andre claimed to want to talk to her about something, but she could think of plenty of other things to do in there.

"Why am I here?" She asked Andre.

"Well, I wanna know why you freaked out on me this morning and yesterday."

Was she really that obvious? She was an actress! She needed to pull herself together. She decided to play dumb. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't 'What are you talking about?' me!"

"Whoa there. Relax."

"I know that you think I'm a bad kisser and don't want to have to rehearse the kissing parts of the scene with me because of it!" Is that what he thought? That she thought that he was a bad kisser? Tori laughed out loud. "What's so funny?"

"You. Seriously? You thought I thought you were a bad kisser? In fact…" Tori stopped before she'd say something she'd regret.

"In fact what?" Andre asked.

"Nothing. You are not a bad kisser. You are a great kisser."

"Prove it. Right now."

"What?" What did he just say?

"Prove it." Andre stated again. "Kiss me right here in this janitor's closet."

"Um, no. I am not kissing you right now in this janitor's closet!" But Tori really did want to kiss him. Right on the lips for forever.

"Why? Is it because you think I'm a bad kisser?"

"No, it's because we have class!"

"Well, then. Since you won't kiss me now, tonight I'm coming over again to practice the scene with both kisses."

"Fine, I have to get to class and you're blocking the door!" She pushed him aside.

"See ya later, Tor!"

Later that night, Tori lay in bed thinking about the events of the day. First, brings up the kiss and talks about how he wants to rehearse it again. She gets nervous because she thinks he's making fun of her but realizes even if he knew he wouldn't do that. Then after lunch he brings up the kiss again because he thinks she thinks he's a bad kisser, which is laughable. I mean the boy can kiss. Then he demands to come over and practice the scene with both kisses (which was no easy feat for Tori because it took a lot of self control not to be all over the boy), just to be sure she wasn't lying to him. She sent him a text just to make sure.

_**Hay is everything ok?**_

_Yea it is._

_**Ok gudnite Andre**_

_Gudnite Tori_

_They are sitting on the couch at his house, just talking and eating snacks when his soda explodes on him._

"_Crap. I gotta clean this up." He takes off his shirt. Her eyes travel from his face down to his chest. The perfect abs he has right below his perfect pecs right beside this amazing biceps. He caught her staring. "Looking a little hard there aren't we?"_

"_What?"_

"_I said 'You're looking a little too hard.'" He replied. "You want some of this Vega?"_

"_What? No." She shook her head._

_He came a sat right next to her on the couch. Very close. He squeezed her thigh and whispered in her ear, "You sure about that?"_

Tori sat straight up. She looked at her clock. "3:22. Danggit." It was going to be a very long night.


	3. Stage Kiss?

A/N: is this how you do these things? Lets hope so. So hi people! Thank you so much to every one who R&R'ed the last two chapters. Im so so so so so so sorry for not updating. I've been working on this chapter for like a month now cause it was so long (well at least I thought it was.). I really hope you all like this chapter. If you can't read it because of my horrible grammar and comma misuse, I apologize. So I love you all, and I really hope this chapter doesn't disappoint. And remember (I so stole this from someone) Reviews make the world go round! ;) _

Friday morning, Tori Vega was a bundle of nerves. Today was the day she had to do her scene with Andre. She was sure she and Andre would do well, she just wasn't so sure how she felt about kissing him. She had no idea how she felt really. After her bizarre dream the night before and the other events of the week, it took everything she had to not dwell on the confusion these feelings were causing.

"So do you think we're ready?" Andre whispered to her in the middle of Robbie and Cat's scene.

"Yeah. We rocked last night. We are super ready. Why'd you ask?" She replied.

"Oh, I'm just a little nervous." He looked down at his lap. "Really, it's just," he paused. "I'm not the best actor, y'know?"

Tori looked at him in astonishment. She had never seen Andre so… vulnerable. "Of course you are! You are a great actor, who's gonna kick butt on that stage."

"Tori." He said sternly. "There's no need to try and appease me. I know it's true. I'm just sorry you couldn't have Beck or Robbie as your partner, to you know, _match your ability._"

It was then when Tori Vega finally figured out how she felt about him. She was in love with her best friend. "Andre Harris, you listen to me and listen to me close. You are a wonderful, magnificent actor and," she leaned closer to him, noses almost touching, "You are the best partner a girl could ask for." She gave him a quick awkward hug and looked up. Cat and Robbie were finished.

"Andre and Tori! You're up!" Sikowitz boomed across the room.

Tori and Andre walked quickly and quietly to the stage. Before they started the scene Andre mouthed, "Thanks," to Tori across the stage.

"…And Go!" yelled Sikowitz. And Tori and Andre's scene started.

"_Thomas? Thomas?" _Tori yelled. _"Oh there you are! I've been looking all over for you!"_

"_Elaine, I have to-"_

"_The caterers are nowhere to be found and I need you to go find them."_

"_Um, okay but,"_ Andre pulled out a chair and gestured to it. _I really need to talk to you and I think you should sit down."_

"_Oh, thank you! I've been running around all day! You'd think I'd get to relax a little on my wedding day…"_

"_About the wedding…"_

"_What about it?"_

"_Well," _Andre paused, _"You can't marry William."_

"_Why not?" _Tori stood up.

"_Well, because-"_

Tori cut him off. _"To be honest Thomas, I don't have time for this. I have to get ready."_

"_Elaine. Listen to me! We all know why you're doing this."_

"_Oh, really?" _Tori spat. _"Why?"_

"_You and William won't be happy together. You know that."_

"_I didn't come here to be lectured. I just came get the _best man_ to find the caterers."_

She started to walk away.

Andre grabbed her arm. _"William is an awful person. Everyone knows that. Except maybe him."_

"_Who are you to talk or judge other people? You are hardly perfect."_

"_Yes I know that. But you can't marry him. You have to call off the wedding."_

"_Don't tell me what to do! You're not my father!"_

"_Elaine! Can't you see that I am just trying to protect you?"_

"_Why do you care so much anyway?"_

"_Because," _Andre took a step towards her and gently put his lips on hers. Tori heard Cat gasp.

After basking in the moment of the sweet kiss quickly, Tori pushed him away. _"What the hell, Thomas? What do you think you're doing?"_

"_Look, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"_

"_If you didn't mean to, why did you do it?"_

"_Because I couldn't help myself! Okay?" _Andre yelled in a way that startled even Tori.

"_What?"_

"_I love you, Elaine. I've loved as long as I can remember; since we were kids. I've never loved anyone else. And while I get that you don't wanna be with me, I still want what's best for you."_

Tori sat down. _"W- Why didn't you tell me?"_

"_I thought it was one of those many things you know but choose not to acknowledge. Like the fact that you don't love William."_

"_I can't believe it."_

"_Well, believe it Elaine. Anyway,"_ Andre ran his hand through his hair, _"Since you are so adamant about marrying William, I'm going to go track down the caterer. It's handled. Just go get ready."_ Andre began to walk away.

Tori got up quickly and grabbed his arm. _"Thomas! Wait!"_

Andre turned around. Tori smashed her lips into his. The kiss was unlike anything either of them had ever experienced. It was an intense kiss of people so close; it ignited something. It was a spark.

The bell interrupted them.

"Class dismissed!" Sikowitz boomed and everyone filed out.

"Thanks for making me uncomfortable Vega!"

The class filed out. Tori was beginning to think Sikowitz chose that scene for them on purpose. Andre and Tori went to lunch in an awkward silence. Tori finally spoke up. "I really think we are going to get an awesome grade. We were great." She ducked her head shyly in anticipation of his response.

Andre smiled at her. "Of course we will. We rocked."

Friday afternoon Andre and Tori sat on Tori's couch watching Jerry Springer after school. The awkwardness of earlier in the day had dissipated and they regained some sort of normalcy. They had come back to Tori's place and had a snack and were chilling out. Andre had his feet on Tori's coffee table and Tori was playing with his hair.

Andre thought back on the week's events. His feelings for Tori were becoming more and more muddled. I mean, he had always thought she was pretty, gorgeous in fact, but he was just her best friend. She probably didn't even think of him like that. She definitely didn't think of him like that. Did she? The kiss they shared in the scene they had done was amazing, passionate. But it was just a stage kiss, right? He looked at Tori. She was beautiful of course, and his best friend. She was just all around a beautiful person, and maybe he did have feelings for her. He knew that when she was around she was like a ray of sunshine, lighting up his world with her smile. She was his support, his life line, almost and he loved having her around. Always fun, interesting, funny, quirky and definitely cute. But was that really worth jeopardizing their friendship? She probably didn't even feel the same way about him. She had never shown any signs of liking him in that way. But did that mean she didn't? Maybe she was good at hiding it.

Impulsively, to grab Tori's attention, he said her name. "Tori."

She looked at him her big brown eyes filled his gaze. Without thinking he grabbed the back of her neck and pulled her lips to his.

It had been a fairly normal Friday for Tori. She and Andre were just hanging out. The next thing she knew, he was sucking her face off! Not that she really minded; it was just a little odd. There they were on her couch making out. As she was kissing him her mind wandered. She had no idea about what Andre thought about her, and at the present moment, she didn't exactly care. She knew that she should ask Andre about his feelings for her but… she felt like now wasn't the right time. Kissing Andre like this was even better than she imagined (not that she spent _a lot_ of time fantasizing). She wanted to be all over him but she didn't want to seem like an easy lay. But he probably doesn't think that, she doesn't want to give him any reason to. Wait. He didn't think that, did he? She pulled back for air, and looked at Andre. He looked like a deer in headlights. His eyes were wide like he had just committed a terrible act. "Andre…" Tori started slowly, a little surprised that there wasn't a grin of satisfaction on his face.

Andre stood up suddenly. " I've got to go." He grabbed his jacket and keys and left the Vega household. He didn't even close the door behind him.

After Tori watched him go down the street she shut the door and sighed.


	4. What do we become?

**A/N: Hi everyone! Hello to all my reviewers! I am so sorry for not updating. Yes, I am that author that takes so long to update that you must go back and read the chapter before again to know what's going on. I am so sorry. With school and everything else that's going on, I have been super not focused on writing. I finished this chapter like two weeks ago and I am just now updating. One of the main reasons, I haven't been updating I because I recently got into a show called _Psych_ and I love it bunches, you should totally go watch it (if you don't already). Any whore, this story is almost done. Two more chapters, I think. I hope you guys like what I do in this one. And some of you may be a little surprised. Anyway, have fun reading. And remember… reviews make the world go round!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious. If I did I'd be rich. And Dan Schneider.**

* * *

><p>It was Monday and Tori Vega was seriously stressed out. After her and Andre's "make out session" (if you wanted to call it that) on Friday afternoon, Andre had been ignoring her. He didn't answer any of her calls, reply to her text messages and even managed to evade her surprise visit to her house on Sunday evening. She couldn't figure out why he was ignoring her. She just wanted to talk and give him his keyboard back (which he left at her house and she knew he was missing). Most of all she missed. They hung out almost every weekend since she got to Hollywood Arts and a weekend without him was horrible. She ran into Cat, Robbie and Rex talking animatedly.<p>

"Hey Cat." Tori interrupted.

"Dang girl, you look like cr-" Robbie put a and over Rex's mouth.

"Hey Tori." Cat stated. She looked up at her. "Are you okay? You look," she cut her eyes at Robbie, "exhausted."

"It's…" Tori considered telling Cat about what had happened. But if she told Cat, she would have to also tell her about her feelings for Andre. And those feeling, while confirmed to her, were not ready to be shared with the world just yet. "It's nothing. Just, have you seen Andre?"

"No, actually. I tried to get him to go to Karaoke Dokie with me and Robbie on Saturday, but he didn't respond to my text. And," She took a breath, "I've been here for at least forty five minutes and I still haven't seen him. Why?" She questioned. "Did you two have a falling out or something?"

"Well not exactly. It's kind of a long story." Cat realized Tori was not going to say anything else about the situation. So, she said a quick "see you later" to Tori and flitted off to Robbie's locker where he was bickering with Rex. Did she say she went to Karaoke Dokie with _just_ Robbie? Tori remembered to keep that in mind.

Tori continued her man hunt for Andre until the first period bell rang.

Andre had managed to evade Tori for the entire weekend and that morning, but now 2nd period was over and 3rd was about to begin. Andre's 3rd period was Sikowitz, the only class he had with Tori. As he walked towards Sikowitz's class, he replayed Friday's scene in his head (like he had been doing all weekend). How could he have been so stupid? How could he have let emotions get the better of him? He shouldn't have kissed Tori. It would totally jeopardize their friendship. She definitely didn't feel the same way about him, but she did respond to that kiss differently than he thought she would. I mean she didn't push him away and she didn't seem repulsed. In fact, she seemed like she was enjoying it. But she was probably just being nice. She didn't want to make it an awkward moment, right? But she smiled when they pulled apart. And it wasn't a tight lipped smile like the one she wore when she was uncomfortable. It was a bright smile that crinkled the corners of her eyes.

Wait. Did that mean she had feelings for him? That complicated things. Of course he wanted to be with her but, what would happen if things ended badly? He would lose her as a girlfriend and _as_ a friend. Nothing would be the same between them. He had never felt the way he feels about Tori for anyone before. He had never been in a serious relationship and wouldn't even know how to manage a long-term girlfriend (which he hoped Tori would be). He was afraid he would let her down.

He opened the door to Sikowitz's classroom and immediately spotted Tori in the second row, where they always sat. She turned around and gave him a shy smile. Instead of sitting with her, he sat in the back closer to the door. Tori frowned and stood up to talk to him but the bell rang and class began.

"Quiet children!" Sikowitz yelled. "Drive by Acting Exercise! You all are angry Native Americans at tea with the queen of Mumbai! Go!" Normally Andre would jump at the chance to do a Drive by Acting Exercise (they were his favorite), but today he had too much on his mind. He zoned out for relatively the rest of class and the bell startled him. As he stood up to leave, Sikowitz, put a hand on his arm.

"Mr. Harris." Sikowitz started. " I noticed you did not participate in class today."

"Um… yeah. I kind of had a lot on my mind today."

"Would that have anything to do with Miss Vega?"

"Uh, what?" How was that man so insightful?

"Well I noticed that you were not in your usual position beside her, and you both looked at each other quite frequently but thought no one noticed. It was very apparent what was occurring."

"Oh well, um yeah, we kind of had…" Andre trailed off. He couldn't think of a word to describe what happened. "It's nothing really a minor," he paused and for a lack of a better word, said, "spat."

"I see." Sikowitz responded. "I feel you aren't giving me the entire story and I offer you one piece of advice."

"Oh? What's that?"

"Don't do anything that you will regret in the future."

"Um, okay. Thanks Sikowitz." Andre left the room. The halls were mostly empty as he opened his locker to get his books. He thought about what Sikowitz said and realized something: he was exactly right.

Tori was extremely frustrated. She hoped she could have talked to Andre after 3rd period but he monopolized by Sikowitz. She also hoped he would at least come get some lunch, but he didn't do that either. In between her classes she kept her eyes peel, but he didn't come back to his locker. She had sent him numerous text messages, none of which he replied to. At lunch she asked all of her friends if they had talked to him but they all responded with the same answer: no. At the last bee she walked out of her American Lit classroom with her heard hanging low. She was sad. Her best friend was M.I.A. and ignoring her. She opened her locker and her phone buzzed. It was a call from Trina.

"Hey lil' sis!"

"What, Trina?"

"So I ditched last period to go shopping and right now I'm still at the mall."

"What? No! You were supposed to take me home! You know my car's in the shop."

"I know, I know! Do you think I would just leave you there without a ride?"

"You've done it before!"

"Well I didn't do it this time! I paid Sinjin to give you a ride." Tori looked toward Sinjin who was standing by the door, waving at her.

"Eww! No." Tori said disgusted. "Trina, come pick me up!"

"No, I'm shopping!"

"How am I Supposed to get home?"

"Sinjin!"

"Trina. Be serious!"

"If you don't appreciate the ride I have secured for you than get one of your friends to take you home!"

"Like who?"

"Um what's his name? Anthony? Austin? Andrew! Yeah Andrew! Get him to give you a ride."

"It's Andre." Tori sighed. "Okay, bye Trina."

"I love you."

"Ugh, whatever." Tori slammed her locker shut and rested her head on it. It looked like she was walking home.

"Hey." Tori looked up at the familiar voice. It was her previously M.I.A. best friend, standing there in the flesh. Tori wanted to throw her arms around him and kiss him, but she knew she couldn't do that. Instead, she said the first thing that came to her mind.

"You left your keyboard at my house."

Andre let out a nervous chuckle. "I know." He looked at her. "Do you need a ride?"

"Um, actually, if it's not too much trouble, yeah."

"Okay, well, I just have to get some stuff out of my locker."

"Oh, okay." Tori could feel the tension in between them. She hated how awkward it was. A week earlier she never would have hesitated to ask him for a ride, and it most certainly wouldn't have been this awkward. The walked out of the school to his black Honda Accord. Tori got in the passenger side. She immediately took to the radio to turn on some music out of habit, but quickly withdrew her hand. She decided it was better to have permission.

Andre looked at her and laughed. "Of course you can turn on some music. You never had any problem before."

Tori saw this as the perfect segue to figure out what had been going on with him. "Well, I mean, based on the way you have been avoiding me, I didn't know if you were mad at me or something."

Andre cringed. "No, I'm not mad at you. I was never mad at you. I was…" Andre glanced at her. "Embarrassed."

"Embarrassed about what?"

"Kissing you." Tori snorted. That was so funny; or was it? Was he saying that he was embarrassed that he _kissed_ her? Or was he embarrassed that he kissed _her_? She didn't know and she didn't want to _embarrass _herself by asking, so she kept her mouth shut. "It's just," he continued as they pulled into the Vega driveway, "I like you a lot, but I don't necessarily feel… comfortable about taking out relationship to the next level. I want to keep you as a friend and I don't know if that would be possible if we advanced our relations." A flicker of disappointed sadness flashed on Tori's face before she quickly composed herself. This conversation was way more painful than she expected it to be. She had sort of readied herself for it. She was okay with his decision but that didn't mean it didn't feel like someone had thrown a ton of bricks at her chest, "… just be friends. Are you okay with that?"

Tori flashed her brightest smile. "Of course I am, silly." Okay so maybe she wasn't so happy about it but, it was more than nothing. She got out of the car. "Well aren't you coming?"

He leaned his head out of the window. "What?"

"Your keyboard? It's here."

"Oh yeah. Just let me park."

As he was parking, she unlocked the door. "Come on in."

"Thanks."

Andre had originally just gone into Tori's house to pick up his keyboard and leave. But after he went in, Tori offered him some lemonade and he sat down on the Vega couch and got comfortable. He was genuinely surprised that Tori had agreed so easily. He suspected that this was probably what she wanted; that she wasn't ready to take their relationship to the next level either. He was so relieved that she was okay with his decision; it felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He felt really great. Tori plopped down on the couch beside him with lemonade and a bowl of popcorn.

"So," Tori started, "what have you been up to lately?" She smirked at him.

"Well aside from avoiding you…" Tori glared at him. "Nothing really. On Sunday I took my little cousin Naya to the movies."

"A-ha! That's where you were on Sunday."

Andre feigned shock. "Tori! Have you been stalking me?"

Tori hit him with a pillow. "Shut up. I have not been stalking you."

"Oh really?" he waggled his eyebrows at her. "Because I think showing up at someone else's house when they aren't there is kind of stalking."

"It is not."

"I think it is."

"No it is not! I was looking for you!" She whacked him with a pillow.

"Ow!" She laughed. He grabbed the pillow from her hands. "Oh yeah? Two can play that game?" he started to playfully hit her.

"Ahh!" She giggled and got up quickly from the couch. She grabbed another pillow form the chair next to it. "You should stop before I am forced to harm you with this pillow."

"Oh? Bring it on, Vega."

Jason willinger.


End file.
